Category: Growing Up

Abstract

This report looks at Reflective practice along with Personal and Professional development with a detailed action plan mutually beneficial to both the individual and to the organization. As mentioned in the following report the following four major leadership skill set is crucial for every employee in the leadership pipeline; in order to have a clear self-awareness by properly reflecting upon the experiences and current practices and to further develop the individual skill set in leadership environment, In the first half of the report the reflection practice is highlighted with biggest lesson learned in correlation to one of the four major leadership principles whilst the second half of the reports follows a detailed feedback analysis score and a detailed action plan for development in each area in a prioritized manner along with timeline and milestones to measure the success criteria in each area.

Introduction

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection which is noblest; second, by imitation which is easiest and third, by experience, which is bitterest.” – Confucius.

In the following report, Part- 1, I have shared the biggest professional lessons learned through experience and by reflecting upon them properly with acute steps, Part – 2 of the report indicates the feedback received from organization and the score plotted in correlation to four major leadership principles and the total score received in each area of four major leadership principles. Later a development plan has been created for the year 2019 to improve in these areas and it has been built in close cooperation with the direct manager on the current business needs and which could be mutually beneficial for both individual and organization.

Each objective in the development plan is attributed to one area of development along with a specific timeline, responsible stakeholders and measuring criteria for milestone success have been incorporated in the action plan index. The index will be further followed up along the development journey 2019, for feedback scores and the objective timeline graphs have been created to share the detailed information in a concise form.

Reflection Practice

It is obvious that one attains high degree of knowledge when they start using the facts learned, however wisdom is attained by reflecting on the experience and the lesson learned after the application of knowledge to practice. We should then be able to shift our mindset after reflection, As (Moon, J.A., 2013, 72) mentions “reflection should enable a shift from an awareness of personal realities to new understandings”. Having undertaken the (Honey and Mumford., 1986) learning style questionnaire it was clear that I am more inclined towards the “Reflector” style and it is seen in similar literatures that (Moon, J.A., 2013, 83) “The opportunity for personal awareness often comes in the moments of ‘special problems’ if a person is then encouraged to review their understanding”. In the following session I have used the (Gibbs, G., 1988) reflection Model for detailed reflection and express the biggest lesson learned so far professionally.

Description

I am currently an International trainee at ECCO shoes, globally mobile across all ECCO Shoe production units and R&D, mainly working on short term business improvement projects and responsible for its transition to business as usual.

This incident occurred while I was working in one of my recent projects where the task was to investigate the ongoing production activity and to find the root cause for performance loss and suggest improvements along with implementation action plan, I found the objective challenging as the history of the company is rich and the current production setup is well established and any new idea should be very well thought and well entertained before sharing it to the stakeholders, after three months of intense investigation along with gathered data and detailed analysis completed, here I was presenting all my findings and improvement points along with implementation action plan, majority of stakeholders found the facts and figures interesting while the other half of the stakeholders still had a confused look, which also increased my fear as a trainee and that the project should not be a failure case, later that evening over the review meeting the feedback I received was “Average” and it could have been better, average for me is still the lowest score so far as I have always been known for exceeding expectations and being outstanding in all my projects.

Feelings

Since I have always been scoring high on my projects, the first average score felt very hard and heavy. It was also one of the first time in my career I felt like I have lost something extremely valuable and that I have let myself down by downgrading from a high score to an average score, I would open up all my previous projects and their scores and comments and re-read them just to feel better, however the current reality was difficult to face. I could recollect words from my Mentor; “Always react to a situation as it demands and carefully remove your personal emotions” do exactly what justifies the situation, and try to look the event from a third persons view by detaching the emotions. I realized that I was losing track and not being emotionally strong. Later I reach out to my Mentor explaining him about the current scenario and seeking for his guidance.

Evaluation

Immediately after receiving the project score my brain was into a shutdown mode for a while and there was no other thing I could think of apart from comparing myself to the previous high scores. Only after realizing the words of my mentor I could get back on track also having explained him about the scenario it was very convincing to hear that I had a lot of room for improvement on my “Influencing” skillset and that facts and numbers alone won’t convince an idea to get across while working with multiple stakeholders. (Dweck, C. 2012, 342) also mentions “when I was exchanging my fixed mindset for a growth one, I was acutely aware of how unsettled I felt”. During our conversation my mentor also shared one of his personal experiences and his learnings where he highlighted the importance of using right words while presenting it to the team and this can be seen in relevant literatures where (McCann, D., 1988, 113) highlights “Nominalizations such as ‘success’, ‘benefit’, ‘efficiency’ and ‘effectiveness’ are fat words because they rely on listeners to develop their own deep structures, thereby giving individual meaning to the words” and using the right strategy for sharing an idea across functional teams, he also appreciated for the project work I have done, what an amazing master to motivate in the right time and judge based on efforts done, it is also one of the leadership qualities I admire about my Mentor.

Analysis

Zooming back into the experience it was evident that the major cause of the situation was on me and as I did not incorporate any form of influential style and my presentation was very much one directional with just numbers and lots of information to digest in a very short given period of time, As (McCann, D., 1988, 21) mentions “One of the goals in teamwork is to influence others so that group outcomes may be attained”. I also shared with my mentor that is it alright from the units point of view to rate low to a trainee who is learning rather than giving him a high score for work done as a form of motivation, again my mentor helped me realize that my thinking was very much one directional and I had a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset, where I was paying little or no attention to listening and exploring the feedback but focusing more towards expressing my own feelings and opinions, I was trying to be assertive by stating expectations rather than being open and finding common grounds, As (Dweck, C., 2012, 328) highlights “The fixed mindset creates an internal monologue that is focused on judging : “ This means I’m a loser”.

Conclusion

In retrospect, if given a chance to correct myself in the experience occurred, there is a range of behavior I would do it differently I earlier had a Self-awareness. Since I was not very much aware of the emotional Intelligence factor and the power of “Influencing with Integrity”. As It was my first work experience abroad and its always learning by doing, and learning from the mistake and it was something evident, I also realized that facts and numbers don’t always work well and Involving the right Stakeholders at the beginning of the project is very Important factor. As (McCann, D., 1988, 106) mentions “If I tell someone directly what to do, then it is my decision and the other person has no ‘ownership’ in the solution. However, if I work my way through the Psychoverbal Communication Model, ending up with nothing stronger than a direct proposal, then there is a greater chance that ownership of the solution is shared ”.

Personal Development Plan

Part 1 Personal Analysis (collegiovolta, 2016)

Prior to setting goals for the short, medium, and long term of my personal development, the following analysis regarding my strengths and weaknesses was conducted to determine any external opportunities or threats I may encounter which could affect my personal development plan along the way.

Strengths/Advantages

I developed great confidence through my public speaking experiences During my time in a Political campaign and my volunteering at my church community.

I also developed good skills of communication through my customer service practices during my short career in the construction industry as a project coordinator.

This experience also enabled me to cope with working under pressure and perform as usual even under the circumstances of sleep deprivation and other possible challenges.

I always treat people with respect, honesty, and decency. Having the opportunity to supervise works on site and liaise with material suppliers and sub-contractors I demonstrated my ability to provide clear and practical directions and manage limited human resources to assure that task set to be achieved.

Aspects for further development I do have difficulty managing my work/life balance which sometimes results in situations where I struggle to finish my assignment, personal commitments, and other essential tasks on time.

I need to further perfect my stress-coping skills when working on-site in a hazardous environment.

To build my management skills and further develop my confidence in human resource management, I need to experience more aspects of the construction industry and gain more working experience.

My skills in task planning need to be improved as I still occasionally encounter situations where work activities clash with each other.

Future possible opportunities Through more academic training and mentorship that I receive from the workplace, I would have a better-structured management system to identify, analyze and resolve issues that I encounter in order to create more value for the organization or company I work for.

To do so, I will seek the advice and approvals of my supervisors to ensure the work plans I made are more effective.

The possibility to work in a high-performance project management team means assistance will be available when I am too occupied with new tasks in the hectic construction business.

With advice and guidance from those who are senior to me, it is highly likely I will improve my work and life balance which could benefit me by allowing me to be more focused and productive on the job.

Threats on my impact my personal development plan Balance my working life can be a difficult challenge when the workloads in academia and employment increase at the same time, this danger can mean that I will be more exhausted after finishing a phase of tasks and become less focused and productive for the next phase of work.

Personal development in regard to the improvements in management skills for better work and academic performance would require more time to be put into relevant research and studies. This would further increase the difficulty of balancing personal life and work commitments.

Accidental injury at a construction site can still be a possibility at work that could result in the suspension of all works and studies.

Part 2 Goals and how to achieve them (collegiovolta, 2016)

Goals/Targets that I wish to Achieve Methods/Approached

I need to achieve these goals External resources and assistance I need to accomplish these Tasks Measures of success in these goals/ targets set Target dates to review for the goals set

A deeper understanding of construction project management Complete more designated courses within my Bachelor of Construction Management and Property program.

A study from reading materials recommended by my lecturers that are relevant to the subject of construction management.

Research and study from construction process documentary films Consultancy from my lecturers and mentors

Completion of course assessments

Improvements in overall score on my academic transcript. By the end of each academic teaching period

More actual work experience in different sectors of the construction industry Learns from online videos of the construction process of different types of projects.

Attempt to find work at other sectors of the construction industry other than the residential low-rise building construction that I currently work in. Advice from senior professionals in the construction industry Progress on finding other works in the construction industry

Recommendations and reviews from colleagues and supervisors at work Every 6 months

Get myself introduced to and develop certain skills in investment and business operation Enrol and complete courses that are related to financial analysis, investment, and portfolio management as my electives for general education courses.

Attend seminars and lectures hosted by professionals in the finance industry

Study and develop own investment skills through reading relevant materials and utilizing trading applications with demonstration mode.

Materials to research and study from.

Consultancy from professionals in the financial investment industry. Total profit/loss ratio on the simulated investment portfolio.

Performance in the assessments of finance-related courses I participate in. Quarterly and end of each academic teaching period

Improve my personal health conditions Form a rest schedule to prevent sleep deprivation so that I could be more focused and have energy when working and studying.

Set up a workout schedule for a certain amount of time each week. Recommendations from a fitness trainer.

Access to a gym membership. Improvements in my athletic ability and any measurable weight loss. Every month Further develop my leadership skills When have the chance to lead, try to volunteer to be the leader in need to build more experience and credibility as a leader, the scenario can be during university sessions, volunteering in community activities, and work environment

Advice from professionals who have more experience as leaders. Comments from my peers and supervisors.

Result on any leadership or human resource management-related reports.

Every 6 months and end of each teaching period

Improve my planning and decision-making skills Take advantage of the planning opportunities I encounter at work and practice problem analysis and decision-making skills in the business environment. Advice and mentorship from colleagues who are senior to me Result from my construction planning course.

Performance review from work. Quarterly and at the end of each teaching period

Part 3 Short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals of my personal development plan (collegiovolta, 2016)

Short-term goals (Next 12-18 months)

Complete the Bachelor of construction management and property degree that I currently pursuing in order to become a professional in the construction industry.

Find another part-time job in the construction industry or the customer service industry, this new job will be involving decision-making planning, and leadership to prepare for my future full-time career in the construction industry.

Develop a certain degree of personal investment skills so that I could utilize my saving to create more wealth in the future, the areas that I will be investing include but are not limited to stock and fund trading, goods trading, and property investing.

Medium-term goals (Next 2-3 years)

Upon the completion of my bachelor’s degree in construction management, I wish to find a position in a graduate program in a construction firm whose business involves commercial, industrial, and residential construction. I wish to develop my skills further from the job learning process and mentorship that a graduate program could offer.

Engage in a high-performance construction project management team which will further develop my skills in the field and expose me to more business opportunities in the property development and construction industry.

Long-term goals (beyond 3 years)

Through hard work and self-improvement on the job, I aim to gain promotions at several stages of my career to become a qualified construction project manager. The career path ideally will be from the graduate program to project engineer or contract administrator then junior project manager and then project manager.

Apart from my passion for the construction industry, I too aim to pursue a degree associated with financial analysis in the future to assist me in career and personal investments.

Maintain a good health condition by keeping the habit of regular workouts in order to stay focused and high performing at work.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my first priority for the next 12-18 months is to graduate from my Bachelor of Construction Management program with a decent academic transcript. In the meantime, I aim to work part-time in the construction industry or participate in work that involves a certain degree of management and customer service to prepare me for a full-time career in construction management.

In the medium to long term, I am prompted to become a professional construction project manager starting from graduate to project engineer or contract administrator to junior project manager, and then to project manager. In the meantime, I would expose myself to the trading market and develop investment skills as a means to grow my wealth.

To fulfill this personal development plan set, I will review my personal development plans regularly and amend them with an appropriate approach. When encounter difficulty that I could not cope with alone, I shall seek advice and assistance from those who are senior to me.

Some successes of this development plan can be measured from the result of my academic performance at university, profits that may be applied to my future investments as well as professional achievements such as promotions and job offers. (collegiovolta, 2016)

References

1. collegiovolta. (2016). www.collegiovolta.org/. Retrieved from http://www.collegiovolta.org/images/example_pdp_2016.pdf

In many cultures, Adult development and maturity are normal at a young age, there are many cultures where young adults are forced to leave education behind and start a family at a young age. These cultures in which maturity emphasizes a clear comprehension of life’s purpose and make a good job executing the meaning of life, which is that we are here to live, grow, reproduce and die. When talking about this subject we can ask ourselves what the age of responsibility is. In my opinion, I think the responsibility has been tied and has a vague synonym with maturity, having maturity means obtaining the ability to respond to different occasions, being aware of how to behave at the correct time and location, and knowing how to act on different cultures and societies. Maturity is distinguished by the shift from custodianship to self-reliance

In my culture often the age difference is not a big deal, it’s common to date someone who’s more than 5 years younger or older than you, some cultures believe, maturity levels match, even when ages don’t. Though It’s extremely important, that there are different things to consider when the age disparity is bigger. In my opinion, the age difference in a couple of years doesn’t seem to be a big concern, but things such as prospects, concerns, and interests are major factors in any relationship, and they can change as people get older. One of the most common problems with age disparity in any relationship is that the older person may speak for the younger person or take a bigger role in making decisions. There may be a difference in power between you and your partner if you’re in separate stages in life. The younger person in the relationship may find it more difficult to speak or give an opinion, specifically when it comes to their interests, worries, or their concerns about the relationship. Age isn’t the only one affecting the relationship. Economic background, and cultural views, can also take part in the relationship. Legal issues are attached to age and sexual relationships. For example, the legal Age of Consent in Texas is 17 years old.

Being sexually ready is one of the most important aspects of this theme. Another reason why it can be bad for differences in age is that the older person may have more experience and want to do things the younger person isn’t ready for. The younger person may feel pressured to have sex or do other sexual activities, which is never okay. Even in today’s day we still see within more conservative and mature relationships where the decision of not having sex until marriage is respected. Most middle schools and high schools now teach methods to not get impregnated. Which makes a contrast between the law and the legal age of consent. For you to be sexually active I think, you have had enough time to educate yourself and be able to explore it at your own pace. In conclusion relationships as minors or with minors are viewed differently, because of maturity, sexual readiness, and legal matters. These issues will make the relationship as minors more complicated, but these are all done with the purpose of preventing a mistake or an irreversible experience while experiencing.

Personal Development Plan

Part 1 Personal Analysis (collegiovolta, 2016)

Prior to setting goals for the short, medium, and long term of my personal development, the following analysis regarding my strengths and weaknesses was conducted to determine any external opportunities or threats I may encounter which could affect my personal development plan along the way.

Strengths/Advantages

I developed great confidence through my public speaking experiences During my time in a Political campaign and my volunteering at my church community.

I also developed good skills of communication through my customer service practices during my short career in the construction industry as a project coordinator.

This experience also enabled me to cope with working under pressure and perform as usual even under the circumstances of sleep deprivation and other possible challenges.

I always treat people with respect, honesty, and decency. Having the opportunity to supervise works on site and liaise with material suppliers and sub-contractors I demonstrated my ability to provide clear and practical directions and manage limited human resources to assure that task set to be achieved.

Aspects for further development I do have difficulty managing my work/life balance which sometimes results in situations where I struggle to finish my assignment, personal commitments, and other essential tasks on time.

I need to further perfect my stress-coping skills when working on-site in a hazardous environment.

To build my management skills and further develop my confidence in human resource management, I need to experience more aspects of the construction industry and gain more working experience.

My skills in task planning need to be improved as I still occasionally encounter situations where work activities clash with each other.

Future possible opportunities Through more academic training and mentorship that I receive from the workplace, I would have a better-structured management system to identify, analyze and resolve issues that I encounter in order to create more value for the organization or company I work for.

To do so, I will seek the advice and approvals of my supervisors to ensure the work plans I made are more effective.

The possibility to work in a high-performance project management team means assistance will be available when I am too occupied with new tasks in the hectic construction business.

With advice and guidance from those who are senior to me, it is highly likely I will improve my work and life balance which could benefit me by allowing me to be more focused and productive on the job.

Threats on my impact my personal development plan Balance my working life can be a difficult challenge when the workloads in academia and employment increase at the same time, this danger can mean that I will be more exhausted after finishing a phase of tasks and become less focused and productive for the next phase of work.

Personal development in regard to the improvements in management skills for better work and academic performance would require more time to be put into relevant research and studies. This would further increase the difficulty of balancing personal life and work commitments.

Accidental injury at a construction site can still be a possibility at work that could result in the suspension of all works and studies.

Part 2 Goals and how to achieve them (collegiovolta, 2016)

Goals/Targets that I wish to Achieve Methods/Approached

I need to achieve these goals External resources and assistance I need to accomplish these Tasks Measures of success in these goals/ targets set Target dates to review for the goals set

A deeper understanding of construction project management Complete more designated courses within my Bachelor of Construction Management and Property program.

A study from reading materials recommended by my lecturers that are relevant to the subject of construction management.

Research and study from construction process documentary films Consultancy from my lecturers and mentors

Completion of course assessments

Improvements in overall score on my academic transcript. By the end of each academic teaching period

More actual work experience in different sectors of the construction industry Learns from online videos of the construction process of different types of projects.

Attempt to find work at other sectors of the construction industry other than the residential low-rise building construction that I currently work in. Advice from senior professionals in the construction industry Progress on finding other works in the construction industry

Recommendations and reviews from colleagues and supervisors at work Every 6 months

Get myself introduced to and develop certain skills in investment and business operation Enrol and complete courses that are related to financial analysis, investment, and portfolio management as my electives for general education courses.

Attend seminars and lectures hosted by professionals in the finance industry

Study and develop own investment skills through reading relevant materials and utilizing trading applications with demonstration mode.

Materials to research and study from.

Consultancy from professionals in the financial investment industry. Total profit/loss ratio on the simulated investment portfolio.

Performance in the assessments of finance-related courses I participate in. Quarterly and end of each academic teaching period

Improve my personal health conditions Form a rest schedule to prevent sleep deprivation so that I could be more focused and have energy when working and studying.

Set up a workout schedule for a certain amount of time each week. Recommendations from a fitness trainer.

Access to a gym membership. Improvements in my athletic ability and any measurable weight loss. Every month Further develop my leadership skills When have the chance to lead, try to volunteer to be the leader in need to build more experience and credibility as a leader, the scenario can be during university sessions, volunteering in community activities, and work environment

Advice from professionals who have more experience as leaders. Comments from my peers and supervisors.

Result on any leadership or human resource management-related reports.

Every 6 months and end of each teaching period

Improve my planning and decision-making skills Take advantage of the planning opportunities I encounter at work and practice problem analysis and decision-making skills in the business environment. Advice and mentorship from colleagues who are senior to me Result from my construction planning course.

Performance review from work. Quarterly and at the end of each teaching period

Part 3 Short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals of my personal development plan (collegiovolta, 2016)

Short-term goals (Next 12-18 months)

Complete the Bachelor of construction management and property degree that I currently pursuing in order to become a professional in the construction industry.

Find another part-time job in the construction industry or the customer service industry, this new job will be involving decision-making planning, and leadership to prepare for my future full-time career in the construction industry.

Develop a certain degree of personal investment skills so that I could utilize my saving to create more wealth in the future, the areas that I will be investing include but are not limited to stock and fund trading, goods trading, and property investing.

Medium-term goals (Next 2-3 years)

Upon the completion of my bachelor’s degree in construction management, I wish to find a position in a graduate program in a construction firm whose business involves commercial, industrial, and residential construction. I wish to develop my skills further from the job learning process and mentorship that a graduate program could offer.

Engage in a high-performance construction project management team which will further develop my skills in the field and expose me to more business opportunities in the property development and construction industry.

Long-term goals (beyond 3 years)

Through hard work and self-improvement on the job, I aim to gain promotions at several stages of my career to become a qualified construction project manager. The career path ideally will be from the graduate program to project engineer or contract administrator then junior project manager and then project manager.

Apart from my passion for the construction industry, I too aim to pursue a degree associated with financial analysis in the future to assist me in career and personal investments.

Maintain a good health condition by keeping the habit of regular workouts in order to stay focused and high performing at work.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my first priority for the next 12-18 months is to graduate from my Bachelor of Construction Management program with a decent academic transcript. In the meantime, I aim to work part-time in the construction industry or participate in work that involves a certain degree of management and customer service to prepare me for a full-time career in construction management.

In the medium to long term, I am prompted to become a professional construction project manager starting from graduate to project engineer or contract administrator to junior project manager, and then to project manager. In the meantime, I would expose myself to the trading market and develop investment skills as a means to grow my wealth.

To fulfill this personal development plan set, I will review my personal development plans regularly and amend them with an appropriate approach. When encounter difficulty that I could not cope with alone, I shall seek advice and assistance from those who are senior to me.

Some successes of this development plan can be measured from the result of my academic performance at university, profits that may be applied to my future investments as well as professional achievements such as promotions and job offers. (collegiovolta, 2016)

References

1. collegiovolta. (2016). www.collegiovolta.org/. Retrieved from http://www.collegiovolta.org/images/example_pdp_2016.pdf

In many cultures, Adult development and maturity are normal at a young age, there are many cultures where young adults are forced to leave education behind and start a family at a young age. These cultures in which maturity emphasizes a clear comprehension of life’s purpose and make a good job executing the meaning of life, which is that we are here to live, grow, reproduce and die. When talking about this subject we can ask ourselves what the age of responsibility is. In my opinion, I think the responsibility has been tied and has a vague synonym with maturity, having maturity means obtaining the ability to respond to different occasions, being aware of how to behave at the correct time and location, and knowing how to act on different cultures and societies. Maturity is distinguished by the shift from custodianship to self-reliance

In my culture often the age difference is not a big deal, it’s common to date someone who’s more than 5 years younger or older than you, some cultures believe, maturity levels match, even when ages don’t. Though It’s extremely important, that there are different things to consider when the age disparity is bigger. In my opinion, the age difference in a couple of years doesn’t seem to be a big concern, but things such as prospects, concerns, and interests are major factors in any relationship, and they can change as people get older. One of the most common problems with age disparity in any relationship is that the older person may speak for the younger person or take a bigger role in making decisions. There may be a difference in power between you and your partner if you’re in separate stages in life. The younger person in the relationship may find it more difficult to speak or give an opinion, specifically when it comes to their interests, worries, or their concerns about the relationship. Age isn’t the only one affecting the relationship. Economic background, and cultural views, can also take part in the relationship. Legal issues are attached to age and sexual relationships. For example, the legal Age of Consent in Texas is 17 years old.

Being sexually ready is one of the most important aspects of this theme. Another reason why it can be bad for differences in age is that the older person may have more experience and want to do things the younger person isn’t ready for. The younger person may feel pressured to have sex or do other sexual activities, which is never okay. Even in today’s day we still see within more conservative and mature relationships where the decision of not having sex until marriage is respected. Most middle schools and high schools now teach methods to not get impregnated. Which makes a contrast between the law and the legal age of consent. For you to be sexually active I think, you have had enough time to educate yourself and be able to explore it at your own pace. In conclusion relationships as minors or with minors are viewed differently, because of maturity, sexual readiness, and legal matters. These issues will make the relationship as minors more complicated, but these are all done with the purpose of preventing a mistake or an irreversible experience while experiencing.